Return of the Champions
2005 live album by Queen + Paul Rodgers
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Return of the Champions is a double live album by English rock band Queen + Paul Rodgers. All of the tracks, apart from "Imagine", were recorded in May 2005 during the Queen + Paul Rodgers Tour at the Hallam FM Arena in Sheffield, England. "Imagine" was performed in Hyde Park, London on July 15th 2005. The performance was meant to take place on July 8th, but was postponed due to the London bombings that occurred the previous day. The album was released on 19 September 2005. A companion DVD was released in October, directed by David Mallet.
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   link |
| Robert Christgau | D+ link |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [1] |
| Return of the Champions | ||||
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| Live album by | ||||
| Released | 13 September 2005 | |||
| Recorded | 9 May 2005 | |||
| Venue | Hallam FM Arena, Sheffield, England | |||
| Genre | Rock, hard rock | |||
| Length | 101:00 | |||
| Label | Parlophone (Europe) Hollywood (US) | |||
| Producer | Joshua J. Macrae, Justin Shirley-Smith, Peter Brandt | |||
| Queen + Paul Rodgers chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Return of the Champions | ||||
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Track listing
All lead vocals performed by Paul Rodgers, except where noted.
Disc 1
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Original Album | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Reaching Out" | Don Black, Andy Hill | ||
| 2. | "Tie Your Mother Down" | Brian May | A Day at the Races (1976 / Queen) | |
| 3. | "I Want to Break Free" | John Deacon | The Works (1984 / Queen) | |
| 4. | "Fat Bottomed Girls" | May | Jazz (1978 / Queen) | |
| 5. | "Wishing Well" | Free | Heartbreaker (1973 / Free Album) | |
| 6. | "Another One Bites the Dust" | Deacon | The Game (1980 / Queen) | |
| 7. | "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" | Freddie Mercury | The Game | |
| 8. | "Say It's Not True" (Lead Vocals by Taylor) | Roger Taylor | The Cosmos Rocks (2008) | |
| 9. | "'39" (Lead Vocals by May) | May | A Night at the Opera (1975 / Queen) | |
| 10. | "Love of My Life" (Lead Vocals by May) | Mercury | A Night at the Opera | |
| 11. | "Hammer to Fall" (Lead Vocals by May & Rodgers) | May | The Works | |
| 12. | "Feel Like Makin' Love" | Paul Rodgers, Mick Ralphs | Straight Shooter (1975 / Bad Company) | |
| 13. | "Let There Be Drums" | Sandy Nelson, Richard Podolor | ||
| 14. | "I'm in Love With My Car" (Lead Vocals by Taylor) | Taylor | A Night at the Opera | |
| 15. | "Guitar Solo" (Brighton Rock) | |||
| 16. | "Last Horizon" | May | Back to the Light (1992 / Brian May) |
Disc 2
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Original Album | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "These Are the Days of Our Lives" (Lead Vocals by Taylor) | Taylor | Innuendo (1991 / Queen) | |
| 2. | "Radio Ga Ga" (Lead Vocals by Taylor & Rodgers) | Taylor | The Works | |
| 3. | "Can't Get Enough" | Ralphs | Bad Company (1974 / Bad Company) | |
| 4. | "A Kind of Magic" | Taylor | A Kind of Magic (1986 / Queen) | |
| 5. | "I Want It All" (Lead Vocals by Rodgers & May) | May | The Miracle (1989 / Queen) | |
| 6. | "Bohemian Rhapsody" (Pre-Recorded Vocals by Mercury, With Lead Vocals by Rodgers) | Mercury | A Night at the Opera | |
| 7. | "The Show Must Go On" | May | Innuendo | |
| 8. | "All Right Now" | Andy Fraser, Rodgers | Fire and Water (1970 / Free) | |
| 9. | "We Will Rock You" | May | News of the World (1977 / Queen) | |
| 10. | "We Are the Champions" | Mercury | News of the World | |
| 11. | "God Save the Queen" | Traditional, Arr. May | A Night at the Opera |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Original Album | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12. | "It's a Beautiful Day" (Remix / Pre-Recorded Vocals by Mercury) | Mercury | Made in Heaven (1995 / Queen) | |
| 13. | "Imagine" (Live at Hyde Park / Lead Vocals by May, Taylor & Rodgers) | John Lennon |
NOTES: Tracks 12–13 are bonus songs from the DVD
Personnel
- Paul Rodgers – lead vocals, guitars
- Brian May – guitars, arrangements, vocals
- Roger Taylor – drums, percussion, vocals
- Spike Edney – keyboards, percussion, vocals
- Jamie Moses – guitars, vocals
- Danny Miranda – bass guitar, acoustic guitar, vocals
- Freddie Mercury – pre-recorded vocals ("Bohemian Rhapsody", "Beautiful Day"), pre-recorded piano ("Bohemian Rhapsody")
Charts
Album
| Chart (2005) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[2] | 19 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[3] | 52 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[4] | 39 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[5] | 19 |
| French Albums (SNEP)[6] | 80 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[7] | 13 |
| Irish Albums (IRMA)[8] | 47 |
| Italian Albums (FIMI)[9] | 19 |
| Portuguese Albums (AFP)[10] | 28 |
| Scottish Albums (OCC)[11] | 10 |
| Spanish Albums (Promusicae)[12] | 44 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[13] | 42 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[14] | 12 |
| UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)[15] | 2 |
| US Billboard 200[16] | 84 |
DVD
| Chart (2005) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Music DVDs Chart[17] | 16 |
| Austrian Music DVDs Chart[18] | 2 |
| Belgian (Flanders) Music DVDs Chart[19] | 7 |
| Belgian (Wallonia) Music DVDs Chart[20] | 6 |
| Danish Music DVDs Chart[21] | 10 |
| Dutch Music DVDs Chart[22] | 2 |
| Greek Music DVDs Chart[23] | 3 |
| Italian Music DVDs Chart[24] | 4 |
| Spanish Music DVDs Chart[25] | 6 |
| US Music Videos Chart[26] | 13 |